Post navigation

Why write a collection of short stories?

One of the first ebooks I read on my kindle was A Land of Ash, edited by David Dalglish. It is a collection of short stories written by a group of writers branching out from their usual sci-fi genre.

The context for the whole book is that the Yellowstone Caldera has “blown”, the western part of the US is buried under metres of deadly ash, and a global calamity is unfolding. Each of the short stories in the book is set in this time, but each is different – some are set close to the Caldera, and therefore oblivion is imminent – others are farther away.

This gave me the idea of writing a collection of stories set in the current time – in the context of the Global Recession, or Global Financial Crisis. The stories are not about the GFC as such, but are set in its wake.

Each of the stories has its own perspective, reflecting the struggles and hopes of ordinary people as they cope with the circumstances that are dealt them: losing their jobs and homes, helping friends in trouble, making their own success, having to move across town or across the world to survive, having to go back to work after losing their retirement savings.

This unifying theme has allowed me to explore a range of issues, points of
view and writing styles while creating a coherent work that is hopeful, insightful and at times humorous.

Cracks in the Ceiling will be available soon on all good ebook platforms.